biocarolyn

I'm so glad I tried this blend. I bought a bottle of CC:Male for my husband, since it had notes of win for him. I figured while I was at it, I ought to throw in a bottle of Female and try it, since I imagined it would be easy to get rid of if I hated it. I don't always love vanilla, I mostly like it in the background of things. I love the scent of leather, but haven't been able to find one that doesn't go straight to cologne on my skin. Orchid is the only floral I can do, pretty much. So this had possibilities, but the amber scared me. Amber always goes to powder on me. When the bottle came I sniffed it and it was foody, tooth-achingly sweet. I put it away untested. A couple of weeks later, I figured I better test it just in case. The leather warms this up and the orchid gets just floral enough. This is gorgeous. It's sexy and intriguing and not too much of anything, with just enough of everything. I love this blend. I walk around all day catching whiffs of myself and thinking, "I smell good!" I can tell my wallet is doomed. I'm editing to mention that as this ages, I really can really smell the clay and tonka. There is just something about this blend that is nothing like any other BPAL that I have smelled- the clay maybe? The clay, leather, and vanilla orchid in this are just so wonderful. It is so strange that people have such incredibly varied descriptions...I don't get anything sweet at ALL in this.

This is beautiful on me. Wet, I smell something that I would think was orange peel, but that doesn't seem to be listed among the notes. Maybe plum and apple? Anyway, it is very strong when wet, almost a juicy, fruity smell. It is sweet-tart on me, not rotting at all. As it dries, the mulling spices come out, along with a green scent that could be aloe or ivy. The "feel" is ivy- I'm not sure what the aloe note smells like, but this seems drier so I think it might be ivy. If I really try, I can find the fir, cedar, and woodsmoke. The whole is warm and fall-like, and so far my favorite of the fall blends I've tried this year!

For Samhain 2010: For reference purposes, I don't get patchouli from either the 2009 Samhain or this one. My nose doesn't smell it in the bottle, and my skin must eat it because no one else thinks this smells like patch (on me) either. In the bottle, this is woodsy smelling, dry. I guess the leaves? It also has a bit of spice Wet on my skin, and as it dries, the apples and maybe even a hint of wine or something similar come out. This is a more rounded Samhain on me than 2009. Definitely stronger apple, but still predominantly spices and woods. This dries down really pretty, but since I loved 2009 I'm not suprised. I tried them next to each other as well, and I think I like this better- a little softer and rounder, more fruit, but still mostly spicy.

It's finally cooled down a bit, and I pulled out last year's Summer's End scents to see how they are aging. Last year, this was very strongly citrus to me, bright sunny orange, but that faded after the first hour or so and I ended up with the amber and sunflower scents. Sometime between then & now, my bottle has changed DRASTICALLY. If you were afraid of the citrus before, definitely give this a try again because mine has toned down from screaming to the barest hint. I'm getting a spicy scent (the myrrh?) and the sunflowers and geraniums, a breath of dead leaves, and a hint of winter wind.

This is grapefruit and orchid (the same orchid in Shadow Witch Orchid, to my nose) on me primarily, with an underlying hint of leather. I get whiffs here & there of shiny woods, which I guess is the teakwood. Sadly, no hint of amber or mint on my skin or in the bottle that I can smell-It's so funny how interpretations of the same theme can be so wildly different. This is brighter, a lighter scent than I would have imagined for Manhattan (I live there), but I can understand where the impression is coming from. This is a confident, take-no-prisoners perfume that is light enough for me to wear to work, while still being something a little different. It is daytime, go-getter Manhattan, with a backbone from the leather and woods.

A couple of things I thought of...sometimes the easiest way for me to isolate a note is to find a couple of blends that mention the note in descriptions, and then find the "common thread;" for me, the skin musk in Tamamo-No-Mae and Velvet Nudie was very similar, and easy to identify once I'd smelled it in both blends. I would agree that it is similar to white musk, but "rounder" to my nose. I get white musk as an almost cologne-y sharpness sometimes, but skin musk doesn't have that to me. For Skin Musk (sorry, these were all LEs; but there are a bunch of Salons with skin musk listed that I haven't tried): Tamamo-No-Mae The Illustrated Woman (CD, this one is still available) Velvet Nudie Giant Vulva Other white musk blends that I've enjoyed: Embalming Fluid Fae Zephyr Kuang Shi Phobos Ehecatl And if you are interested in LEs: F5 Thoos (this feels like Fae but with mandarin orange instead of peach to me) The Girl (I know the description says "pale musk" but this is definitely white musk to me)

Something about this called to me, I don't know exactly why. I like citrus scents, so I wasn't scared of the cubeb which everyone says smells like lemons. The only honey scent that has not gone rancid on me is the Berry Moon from last summer, and I love it in the deep summer heat. We've been having such unseasonably hot, humid weather that I guess I thought it would work out! Anyway, wet I get a lot of intense bright lemon. It's sweet tart lemon, and Phobos is the only thing I've smelled in BPAL that smells the same to me. (which is odd, because there are no listed notes in common...) The honey is there and for a few minutes, I was afraid it would go sickly-sweet gross. But it doesn't. Dry I get much less lemon and the cardamom comes out to play. Honey heavy, languid, but with a sharp beginning. Sweet-spicy and interesting!

I knew this would be the one Shunga I would really like this year, and it was very similar to my hopes. I love the smell of Cranberry, it is one of my favorite notes. I'm also one of the rare fans of cedar and teak is always nice. I get tart red berries, (which I personally wish were stronger, but they are perfectly blended) rich woods, and something which I guess is tobacco flower. Happily for me, mint is non-existent.

I get a very strong mandarin, which I love- one of my favorite notes. It's sweet-tart, but then goes gently burnt, which I guess is the khus. Written out, it sounds unpleasant but this is very nice. The gardenia supports the scent, keeping it feminine on me, but the musks and khus do appear to balance this. I and back and forth between this & Lovers In A Carp Streamer as my favorite Shungas for the year, and Shungas always seem to be my favorite LEs. This will be really interesting to wear as time goes on and it ages, as I suspect the mandarin will recede a bit as well.

I can't believe I somehow haven't reviewed this yet. Sea of Glass is a extremely light floral aquatic. The floral might be gardenia, as I feel like there is a similar note in Kiss Amongst Discarded Tissues (!), but it is light and airy. This scent feels white-crystal-palest green to me, and evokes a clarity- a refined, slightly sharp (I think there's some grapefruit?) but not biting awareness, I guess, is the best I can describe it. Very hard to pick out individual notes. Maybe some gardenia, grapefruit, possibly lily of the valley, and a light aquatic. The whole is definitely not the sum of its parts. I like to wear this on stressful days that I need to get a lot done at work, because it makes me feel serene and alert. This scent evokes such a strong image/feeling that it is easier to describe that than the notes. The flowers I think I can smell are white flowers that often have a tendency to make a scent heavy, but there is NOTHING about this scent that is heavy. Very pretty, very gentle, with a light throw but not so light on me as to be non-existent.

My hot weather list: Carnal Berry Moon Fae Hungry Ghost Moon Jersey Devil Maenad Pele Strawberry Moon Tamamo-No-Mae Velvet Tiki Newer blends that I suspect will be great in the heat, but haven't had the opportunity to experiment yet: Kiss Amongst Discarded Tissues Metal Tiger Thoos

I'm a big fan of fruits and am gently moving into floral scents. I second Lovers in a Ricefield. I would also say that Frumious Bandersnatch is spicy carnations and heavy PLUM. Summer's Last Will & Testament smells like oranges and marigold to me. Fae has heliotrope in it, although I get Peach & White musk almost exclusively. Lots of the Asian-inspired scents have gentle fruits and florals...I'm a big fan of fruits and am gently moving into floral scents. I second Lovers in a Ricefield. I would also say that Frumious Bandersnatch is spicy carnations and heavy PLUM. Summer's Last Will & Testament smells like oranges and marigold to me. Fae has heliotrope in it, although I get Peach & White musk almost exclusively. Lots of the Asian-inspired scents have gentle fruits and florals...

This was a spur of the moment decant that I am really glad I ordered. Full disclosure: I am a pine person, so the fir & balsam were actually the draw in the description for me. Wet, I get all that fir and balsam. The myrrh and sandalwoods come out and make the pine & balsam feel "full" as it begins to dry. This takes on a light, spring-y blend after a bit- I think it might be the apple blossom. Something is just on the edge of going powdery on me, but it doesnt quite. Really beautifully blended, all the notes are there but nothing overpowers. Nice.. ETA- on a whim again, I grabbed a bottle before the Shungas disappeared. I actually really, really like this blend. The fir & balsam are gentle and sort of work, oddly, so that I think I have found my long awaited 3rd bedtime blend. (I can't do lavendar, I'm allergic, but I need relax-y blends. Sudha Segara, Water of Notre Dame, and now Konseishin the Penis God...) Yum, and

I love Jersey Devil. The blend is just lovely, and I can smell all the notes. The cranberry, tomato leaf, and cedar are in there too, but pine is dominant. Also, Nocnitsa, Black Forest, Loup Garou, Thanatopsis. But I get a pretty strong pitch pine from the Illustrated Woman, as well, if you are looking for something different but still pine-y. Oh. And how did I forget Slobbering Pine? I like that one as well, pine for the days when something lighter is needed. ETA: I keep thinking of things- Konseishin the Penis God from this year's shungas had fir & balsam, and was pretty strongly pine on me in the wet & early dry down. This is one of those blends I keep liking more & more, which is unfortunate because if I buy a bottle, people will ask me what its called. LOL.

Mousesong, I hear you. Most of these don't work on me either. If you are still looking for "clean" musks, Fae from the GC is a nice light white musk, heavy on the peach, and Thoos, though an LE, was almost exactly tangerine-flavored Fae to me, rather than peach. I can't do red or dark musks. They smell nice in the bottle, but on me they go rancid. Sad.

Funny- I wanted something dark. I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before I tried the imp... at first it was pine-ish, which I usually like. (I actually love slobbering pine, if that tells you anything.) This is not like the pines in Jersey Devil, slobbering pine, or even Black Forest, although Black Forest is probably the closest. It is strongly musk, a dark musk. Dark musks & I usually don't get along, and red musk especially hates me. I can smell the kinship to red musk, but its not exactly that. It approaches it, and on the dry down after a few hours its more strongly musk, in fact pine is almost gone. But somehow not offensive. Really well blended and interesting, and definitely evocative of the poem for me. Great experience. Not something I'll wear all the time, mind you, but really cool. Also, gender neutral to masculine...

To me, this is so close to Fae- but instead of Peach, tangerine. Definitely white musk & tangerine predominantly. White musk always feels like fuzzy warm summer days that are hot enough to make me sleepy, rather than uncomfortable. So that vibe...

Sigh. I wanted to love this- I'm dying to find a leather blend that works for me. But the red musk that a few others have noticed hates me. DO. NOT. WANT. Red musk & I just don't get along, and this isn't subtle. I would actually say its the second strongest note after the leather, which really smells nice but on me, the red musk screams. Sigh again. woe. <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mecry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="mecry.gif" /> Edit: I thought red musk got stronger with age? Either mine's toning itself down, or I am just more used to red musk than I was...I think I could actually wear this. But mostly I can't resist the leather

This is definitely a sparkling, happy scent. I get lemon and bergamot in the bottle, and the yuzu opens up when it's wet on the skin. The eucalyptus is more of a feel than something I can smell distinctly, and the flowers are not too cloying. This is a perk-you-up-in-the-winter type scent. It's really cheerful and bright to me. PS- the husband is in love with Old Man Ackerman, and these two are like a matched set. I don't get totally the most masculine with Old Man Ackerman, but if it does have a masculine tinge, this is the feminine version.

This was my introduction to the snow/ice note, and not surprisingly I really enjoy this scent. The sharpness in this, to me, is all the ice. The closest pine I can pick would be Slobbering Pine- its a light, softer pine with a lot of aquatic overlay. I can't smell Eucalyptus at all, but I can "feel" it underneath. Honestly, I think this is Slobbering Pine with a really strong frost/snow/ice note added, or Snowball Fracas without the dirt, and pine included. Soft, relaxing, gentle. I've even worn this to sleep...

... Offerings of ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost’s perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit and the purging of earthly concerns from the soul. Oh this is gorgeous. I have been trying to track down a bottle, totally unsniffed, because I love these notes. Citrus, Asian vibe, light musk = And I was so right. This is light, ethereal, and wonderful. The grapefruit is still predominant in the bottle and on my skin at first, but it dies down and melds wonderfully to float around with the woods, ginger, and light musk. Lovely. Too bad my chances of getting a backup are slim to none, since I expect I would love to wear this regularly. Ah well, thankful for what we have. Another beautiful scent.

Heh. It seems like Australian Copperhead doesn't get any love. This is my one and only holy-grail scent. I could wear this every day and be happy. Cottonmouth suprised me a few days ago- an imp was included by someone in a trade, and I am definitely in the market for a bottle. I liked Banded Sea Snake a whole bunch as well. I also have Boomslang and Coral Snake, and like them- but I think Cottonmouth & Banded Sea Snake are my next bottle purchases. I'd love to try Western Diamondback as well.... Snake Pit blends-something for everybody, apparently!

OM NOM NOM. In the bottle, this is really realistic strawberries left in the fridge with a bit of sugar. It makes me want angel food cake! The funny part is that although I love berries, I am not a big fan of sweet foodie blends AT ALL. The is definitely more berry than foodie. Drying down, the grass and dandelion come out in equal measure, maybe even drowning out the strawberry. It's a close-to-the-skin scent, and oddly, I'm finding I love it now in November. It's hard to be in a bad mood with this around- don't be sad winter's coming, you can smell like delicious summer any time you want!

This is my first atmosphere spray. Let me start by saying that I was a bit hesitant to think this could be worth the price, and in that regard, I was TOTALLY WRONG. This is completely worth the price, worth every cent. To me, the cinnamon and sugar is stronger than the Samhain smell, but it isn't achingly foody. There are enough fall leaves and wood to darken it. It only takes two or three sprays to scent a large room, and it lasts for literally DAYS. I've been using this liberally since I received it, and I just looked to see how much was left in the bottle- a shockingly large amount! I am so happy with this- an excellent fall smell.

The Girl was something I only tried because of all the glowing reviews. None of the notes are particular favorites of mine, and I don't love florals, so I didn't really have high hopes. This just proves Beth is amazing. I don't get any of the vanilla that other reviewers mention (thankfully). The most prominent note on my skin is the pale (white?) musk that I also smell in Fae. In fact, I think The Girl is a similar mood to Fae, just the fall version rather than mid-summer, as Fae feels to me. I also have a tendency to make all florals screamingly loud, so I was really nervous about the jasmine in this scent but it is all incredibly blended. Other than the white musk, I can't pick out an individual note. It's just a smooth, hazy blend of white fall notes. This is really nice- I'm glad I bought a bottle.